Google announces high-resolution, touchscreen Chromebook Pixel laptop

Google on Thursday announced the Chromebook Pixel, a touchscreen laptop with a high-resolution display.

The Chromebook Pixel is the first computer Google developed on its own. It represents the Silicon Valley company's first major foray into the PC market, simultaneously challenging Microsoft's grip on the industry with the Windows operating system as well as Apple's line of Mac computers.

Google's new computer offering has a nearly 13-inch display with a 2,560 by 1,700 pixel resolution. Its 239 pixel density is the highest of any laptop and tops both of Apple's MacBook Pro with Retina display computers.

Inside, the Chromebook Pixel runs on an Intel Core i5 processor and has 4-gigabytes of RAM. The Chromebook Pixel only has 32 GB of flash storage, but Google is offering users who buy the computer 1 TB of storage in the cloud for three years.

Additionally, the Chromebook Pixel, which is made of anodized aluminum alloy, will be available in an LTE-enabled version, allowing it to connect to the fastest cellular network offered by Verizon Wireless.

The Chromebook Pixel is available for purchase now on Google Play. The Wi-Fi only version goes for $1,299 and is scheduled to ship next week, while the LTE-capable version costs $1,449 and will ship in April.